Embodiments of the inventive concept described herein relate to a multi-aperture camera system which determines a depth of an object based on a disparity, and more particularly, relate to a technique of improving accuracy of the depth of an object using focusing distance scan.
A technique of determining a depth of an object according to the related art arbitrarily sets the positions of an optical system and an image sensor instead of setting the positions of the optical system and the image sensor to allow the image sensor to approach to the optical system to a focusing distance, such that the depth of the object is estimated by using a plurality of images obtained by the image sensor through the optical system.
For example, a depth-from-defocus (DFD) technique according to the related art arbitrarily sets the positions of an optical system and an image sensor such that the depth of an object is estimated by using a blur size of each of a plurality of images obtained through a plurality of apertures formed in the optical system in a state that the image sensor and the optical system are not arranged to approach to each other to a focusing distance.
As another example, a disparity using technique according to the related art includes two camera modules each having an optical system and an image sensor and arbitrarily sets the positions of the optical systems and the image sensors of the camera modules, such that the depth of an object is estimated by using a disparity between images obtained through the two camera modules in a state that the image sensor and the optical system of each camera module are not arranged to approach to each other to a focusing distance.
According to the techniques of determining a depth of an object described above, since the positions of the optical system and the image sensor are arbitrarily set to use the blur size or the disparity, so that the image sensor and the optical system are not arranged to approach to the focusing distance, it is difficult to accurately calculate the depth of an object.
Thus, to solve the problems of a technique of determining a depth of an object according to the related art, the following embodiments disclose a technique of determining a depth of an object by moving an optical system relative to an image sensor to be arranged at a plurality of positions and by scanning a plurality of focusing distances.